Teen accused of suffocating baby with chili powder

[JayS]

June 4, 2004, 1:38AM
Teen accused of suffocating baby with chili powder
Associated Press
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/2609231


DALLAS -- A 19-year-old mother accused of suffocating her baby with chili powder told police she got the idea off the Internet as a remedy for thumb sucking, according to court documents.

Angela DiSabella, of Irving, Texas, is charged with capital murder in the death of her 5-month-old daughter, Kira. DiSabella is being held under $750,000 bond at the Dallas County jail.

*SNIP*

The Dallas County Medical Examiner's office said Kira choked on chili powder. Medical officials said Kira's airway was clogged with the substance. A secondary cause of death was malnutrition.

*SNIP*

Social workers contacted Kira's father last week to set up an appointment after someone reported the baby was malnourished.

*SNIP*

[Lucky Luciano]

1. I will preapologize to the feminists, but this girl is one

stupid bitch. What the hell was she thinking? I have a hard time believeing there was not something more sinister at work given that the child was already malnourished.

[Momof1]

2. Kids having kids

She had to been a druggie to even think that she was going to get a 5 mo old to stop sucking her thumb. That is just fucking stupid. Add on a malnourished baby.

This makes me effin sick

[SheilaT]

3. No, she didn't have to be a druggie

to try to get her five month old to stop thumb sucking.

There are a lot of (in my opinion) sick ideas out there about controlling and manipulating the behavior of babies. Mad About You, an otherwise good show, devoted an entire episode, which it ran without commercials, to the adult characters using the "cry it out" method of getting their baby to sleep through the night. What was so appalling was that the message conveyed was that yes, this is the right way to do it. So the right way to get your baby to sleep through the night is to let it be unconsoled.

The real problem in the case that started this thread is the malnutrition, even if the chili powder was the direct cause of death.
Number one, babies should be breast fed, pure and simple. Number two, (although this should probably be number one) there simply is not enough support for new mothers, regardless of age, regardless of social class. Even middle class women often have no clue about what babies really need or how to care for them, and no one is telling them or helping them.

This is a genuine tragedy, not something to let self-satisfied people just think the mother was a druggie and sick to let this happen. She had no way of knowing any better, and THAT'S the horror of all this.

[SarahB]

4. I agree totally.

Maybe it's not PC to say and I generally keep most of my parenting ideas to myself here (since it's not a parenting board and little related stuff), but babies were meant to nurse and for a lot longer than most people do as well as have continual skin to skin contact for a long time. Not only for nutrition, but for brain development. I know this is only my own anecdotal experience (and I'm a wacky insomniac anyway), but I raised my children this way and they are all academically gifted as well as socially adjusted. I know unpredictable things happen, but I'm fortunate to have had this work for us.

[JayS]

5. We had some parents here that thought they would be...

...extra healthy and not let their child have salt and used salt substitute instead. They reportedly used approximately half a teaspoon of the stuff. The child died.

[Lucky Luciano]

8. I agree that support for new moms is minimal, but

I still think that no matter how poor you are, EVERYONE can afford at least one book on caring for a newborn. If not, then this is clearly where you have to adopt.......and no mother with an IQ over 60 would be giving a newborn hot chili powder for any reason...I am a guy (who is a little rough around the edges and not known for being 'Mr Sensitive' as I guess you can tell, but in return I tell it like it is so discussions can be resolved quickly) and i can say that it is common sense for a mother not to do this!

[solinvictus]

6. People should have to take a test before breeding.

[DemExpat]

7. Stopping a 5- month old from thumb-sucking?????

:wtf:

I agree with the Moms above who are fervent breast-feeding advocates.

My 2 enjoyed several years of suckling and skin contact....



What a tragedy. :cry:

DemEx